The P26-million evacuation center that is being constructed in Barangay Los Amigos, Tugbok District lies near the Lacson Fault segment of the Central Davao Fault System.
But a Davao City Risk Reduction Management Council (CDRRMC) official says they will not stop the construction.
“We planned the evacuation center before we knew that there’s a fault line. When Phivolcs (Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology) gave us the map, which was around February 2015, the construction was already on-going,” CDRRMC Training Director Lyndon Ancajas told reporters during the recent I-Speak media forum.
The evacuation center will serve as temporary shelter for people from three districts who have nowhere to go in times of calamities such as flooding and fire.
Ancajas said the evacuation needs to be completed as there’s already an approved budget from the Commission on Audit (COA) with an agreed timeline, if not, the project will be questioned. Also, it is already at 98% near completion.
He said, other than following the National Building Code of the Philippines, they also adhere with the guidelines of Phivolcs on constructing buildings near fault lines to prepare for the earthquakes.
According to Phivolcs, the Lacson Fault with 33 kilometers can produce a 6.8-magnitude quake. Aside from Los Amigos, other barangays that will be affected are Lacson, Malagos, Calinan, Wangan, Subasta, Balengaeng, Angalan, Tugbok, Mintal, Bago Oshiro, Bangkas Heights, Baliok and Lubogan.
The Dacudao Fault, on the other hand, will affect the barangays of Lamanan, Lacson, Dacudao, Calinan, Talomo River, Riverside, Los Amigos, Ula, Tugbok, Mintal, Sto. Niño, Catalunan Grande, Catalunan Pequeño, and Talomo Proper.
